


Seven Little Numbers

by flashytonystark



Series: #PsychicGinger... I Ship It [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV), Game of Thrones RPF
Genre: Adorable, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Flirting, Background Relationships, Best Friends, Coffee, Complicated Relationships, Cute, Denial of Feelings, Dialogue, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Feelings, Female Friendship, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluffy Ending, Friendship, Implied abusive relationships, Non-Canon Relationship, POV Third Person, Present Tense, Studying, Unhealthy Relationships, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-27
Updated: 2015-12-27
Packaged: 2018-05-09 15:47:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5545784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flashytonystark/pseuds/flashytonystark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She pulls out the piece of paper in her pocket and unfolds it to reveal a small scribble of numbers followed by a small doodle of Spider-Man. She pauses and counts, just to be sure, and yes, there are seven little numbers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seven Little Numbers

**Author's Note:**

> Another addition to #PsychicGinger...I ship it! 
> 
> This one goes along with "Just a Friend" which was previously posted in this series. It's not necessary that you read them in order, but it might make a little more sense to you if you do. Haven't read "Just a Friend" yet and want to? No problem! You can find it [HERE](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5509517).
> 
> Enjoy!

Sansa Stark isn’t a shy person. She’s not afraid of speaking in front of large audiences or approaching new people or asking questions.  
  
Sansa Stark isn’t afraid of boys either. She has four brothers and knows that boys don’t have cooties; she’s even had boyfriends.  
  
Boys have never scared Sansa, even when she was little. After all, _she_  was the one who pulled Joffrey Baratheon behind the tree in her back yard and kissed him when they were just four years old.  
  
She knows boys on campus watch her and she knows they shoot jealous looks toward Joffrey whenever they’re together and she often asks herself why she’s still putting on a show for everyone else. Shouldn’t her happiness count for something? She doesn’t need Joffrey to secure a decent place among the social elites. She’s _Sansa Stark_ ; she’s done that already on her own.  
  
So if she doesn’t have a problem talking to new people she’s never met and isn’t afraid of boys, then why is she anxiously watching the clock, counting down the minutes until her class is over and she can go talk to a _boy_.  
  
That boy does have a name and it’s ‘Jojen Reed’ to be specific.  
  
Sansa mentally told herself three weeks and five days ago that she was going to become friends with Jojen Reed. In the last three weeks and five days, she’s yet to follow through with any attempts to do so.  
  
But today will be different—she’s going to talk to him. At least that’s what she keeps telling herself as she has a stare down with the clock.  
  
Every Tuesday and Thursday, Jojen eats lunch in the courtyard at one of the small tables that are just big enough for two people to sit at comfortably. He goes to the same table every time, so Sansa knows exactly where to go.  
  
Today is Thursday, but Jojen isn’t sitting at his usual spot in the courtyard for lunch. He’s crammed inside the closest café, tucked in a back corner and taking refuge from the storm that’s raging outside, trying to avoid the majority of the students. As Sansa runs across the campus using her books as a pathetic umbrella, she gets a text message from Margaery, telling her that she’s found Jojen. She changes her direction and heads toward the café.  
  
Margaery is already there waiting by the door with two coffees. She hands one to Sansa and pulls her a little father into the already crowded café.  
  
“He’s over there. Do you see him? His head is down; I think he might be reading.”  
  
Sansa stands on her tiptoes and cranes her neck until she spots him.  
  
“Yeah, I see him over there. He’s alone as usual…” she doesn’t sound nearly as sure of herself as she did the day before when she outlined her plan of attack to Margaery over dinner and a study session.  
  
“Yeah, that’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”  
  
“Yes! I said it would be easier to approach him if he was alone. I wasn’t just making that up.”  
  
Margaery cocks her head to the side and raises a brow. “So what’s the big deal? Why aren’t you over there chatting up your soon to be new bff?”  
  
“Because I…” Sansa trails off and stares at the lid of her coffee cup, the words stuck in her throat. “Because this is stupid of me; I have a boyfriend.” Margaery opens her mouth to question Sansa again when the latter’s phone starts to ring.  
  
Sansa looks at the phone and a feeling of dread courses through her. But, being the dutiful girlfriend that she is, she presses ANSWER on her phone and lifts it to her ear.  
  
“Hello?.... Yes, Joff, I’m at the café…. No, the one next to the Psych building…. Pretty crowded…. No, why would I be mad?.... I’m not mad…. Yes, I understand…. Of course I do…. Mhm, see you later.”  
  
After Sansa hangs up and puts her phone away, Margaery is already pelting her with questions.  
  
“Joffrey not coming to lunch or what?”  
  
She shakes her head and lets out an irritated sigh. “No, and he’s planning on skipping the rest of his classes for the day, so you know I have to miss World Lit so I can sneak into his Accounting lecture and take notes for him.”  
  
Her face falls at the mention of missing World Lit and something tells her it’s not just because she genuinely enjoys the class. There’s been a nagging feeling that’s been threatening to burst over the past three weeks and once again, she pushes it and her emotions deep below the surface before they can erupt and swallow her whole.  
  
“Look at the bright side!” Margaery chirps, slowly pushing Sansa toward Jojen in small bursts. “You have a reason to talk to him! Just go over there and tell him you’re not feeling well and won’t be in class today. Then you can ask him to take notes for you, which gives you another opportunity to talk to him next week. You’ll be best friends in no time.”  
  
Sansa looks around uneasily as she thinks it over. “Actually, I think I’m going to pass on talking to him today.”  
  
“Sansa Stark, he is a _boy_ , not an alien. He’s not a rabid dog who’s going to bite you if you get too close. I still think he might be a little crazy, but he’s not going to hurt you.” Margaery puts her hands on her hips and narrows her eyes at Sansa. “Whatever happened to my best friend who could talk to any person she wanted, no questions asked?”  
  
“I’m right here!” she protests back, looking around for an attractive guy she’s never spoken to. Margaery spots someone before Sansa and points him out.  
  
“Go talk to him then. Prove me wrong; prove to me that you haven’t lost your skill.”  
  
As if on cue, Sansa’s entire demeanor changes and she approaches the guy standing near the coffee creamer. She flips her hair and twirls a strand around her finger, making sure to laugh in all the right places while subtly touching his arm. She finds out that his name is Connor, he’s a sophomore studying sports medicine, and he’s on the Lacrosse team with Joffrey. Sansa bids the boy goodbye and makes her way back to Margaery, but not before she catches Jojen looking at Connor. When she realizes this, she stops and Jojen’s gaze shifts to Sansa and she suddenly feels terrible. There’s something there in Jojen’s expression that she doesn’t recognize and she no longer feels like smiling. He almost looks… hurt.  
  
Breaking their gaze and tucking her head down, she hurries back over to Margaery who is grinning. “I knew you still had it in you…. Hey, something wrong?”  
  
Shaking her head ‘no,’ Sansa’s eyes dart from Connor to Jojen and she prays that Margery picks up on the subtle cue.  
  
“Ah, he saw you talking to him in flirt mode, didn’t he?” She whispers, pulling Sansa toward an empty table. She slides up into the tall chair and gestures for Sansa to sit across from her, which she does. They’re closer to Jojen now, so they drop their voices even more.  
  
“This is so stupid, Marg.”  
  
“What? The fact that you like the quiet, crazy boy who stares at you and takes time out of his day to order coffee for you so as soon as you walk into the coffee shop, it’s ready to go?”  
  
“ _No_ , what’s stupid is the fact that I like the quiet, _not_  crazy boy who stares at me and takes time out of his day to order my coffee so as soon as I walk into the coffee shop, it’s ready to go all while dating Joffrey Baratheon!” She practically hisses the last few words but drops her voice again. “I can’t just throw all of that away.”  
  
“Well you better do something because it looks like your boy is packing up to leave.”  
  
Sansa’s head snaps up and her eyes go wide as she blatantly looks over her shoulder, not caring if anyone notices or not. “Classes don’t start for another half hour…”  
  
“So _go_ , stupid.” She kicks the legs of Sansa’s chair until she hops down. She doesn’t even look back at Margaery as she weaves her way through the chairs and clumps of people toward Jojen who is already walking toward the back entrance and exit.  
  
“Hey… Hey, Jojen!” She shouts it louder than she intends to and a few people standing close to her stop their conversations to give her a look. At first, she doesn’t think he heard her, but he stops on the second step and turns around.  
  
She can feel her cheeks heating up as he looks at her and she offers an awkward wave before gesturing to the table he just vacated. She feels silly just holding her hand out toward the table, so she clasps them together and wrings them nervously until he steps down and walks toward her.  
  
Before she knows it, he’s standing in front of her and she’s taking in everything about him. She notices how his bag is slung over only one shoulder, how his hair and pushed off to the side, and that his shirt has the Captain America logo on the front. When she looks back up, the hurt filled expression he wore minutes before is now one of surprise and nervousness.  
  
“Hi, um… I didn’t mean to shout—well, I did, but not as loud as I did.” She lets out a nervous laugh and mentally berates herself.  
  
“Oh, uh, yeah. No, it’s fine. Was there something I could help you with? We have a class together, right?”  
  
Sansa stares at him blankly until his words register with her. “Class… Yeah, it’s World Lit!” she sounds a little more enthused than she should and she feels her cheeks redden even more.  
  
Jojen continues to stare at her with curiosity, silently waiting for her to continue. She starts to panic just a little and is about to make a terrible joke about Captain America that she learned from her younger brother when she sees Joffrey coming down the back entrance steps. He immediately spots her and his expression darkens slightly.  
  
“San! Baby! I managed to get here to eat lunch with you. Where are you sitting, baby doll?”  
  
Sansa wants to puke, cry, run away, and punch Joffrey all at once. She _hates_  it when he calls her ‘baby doll’ and he knows it. He wasn’t supposed to be at lunch, so why was he? She plasters on a fake smile while trying to communicate an apology to Jojen with her eyes.  
  
“Hi, Joff. I’m surprised you’re here; you said you had a lot to work on and wouldn’t make it to lunch today,” she says, still wearing her plastic smile.  
  
He nods once at Jojen as he steps next to Sansa, his tone no longer light and happy. “You sounded pretty pissed on the phone, so I figured I should come and make it up to you so you don’t bitch me out later. I’m surprised you’re not eating. Looks like Marg is over there… is that your bag?” He looks over his shoulder and squints as Margaery gives him a wave. “Looks like you haven’t eaten either. I talked to you almost a half hour ago and now there’s only twenty minutes until class.”  
  
Joffrey turns his attention to Jojen who is still standing there, unsure of what to say or do.  
  
“Joff, you know Jojen, don’t you? He and I have a couple classes together.” Sansa tries to seem innocent, but Joffrey’s known her long enough to know she’s hiding something.  
  
“Yeah, erm, we have World Lit together later this afternoon,” Jojen offers, hoping to break through the awkward tension that has settled over the three of them.  
  
“Good, then he can take notes for you this afternoon while you’re not in class then, can’t he?”  
  
Sansa looks up at Joffrey confused and before she can speak, he’s already offering up an explanation. “You’ve got that new job interview this afternoon, remember? You can’t miss it; it’s the one Mum set up for you. She pulled out every contact she knew to get you this interview.”  
  
“Oh… right. Um, Jojen would you mind, you know, taking notes for me?” Sansa asks in a quiet voice.  
  
“Uh, sure. I can do that. Yeah. Not a problem.” He looks a little puzzled, the exact opposite of Joffrey’s smug look.  
  
“Fantastic; now that we’ve gotten that taken care of, come _on_ , Sansa. We need to get you something to eat before you have to leave.” Joffrey grabs Sansa’s upper arm tight enough to cause her to wince, but she doesn’t dare cry out or complain. As he’s pulling her away by the arm, she looks over her shoulder at Jojen who’s expression has gone from confused, to sad, to angry all within a matter of seconds.  
  
“Thanks again,” she replies weakly before Joffrey yanks her in front of him, giving her a nudge in the back to keep walking.  
  
Sansa clenches her teeth, wishing she had told Joffrey she wasn’t going to this supposed ‘interview’ set up by his mother and that she was going to go to class. When she gets back to the table, she immediately looks to see if Jojen is still there and to her surprise, he is.  
  
He’s back in his original seat, a notebook in front of him. Sansa can tell it’s still closed because she can see the neon orange cover and instead of opening it, Jojen is looking directly at her. He continues to watch her, only looking down at his phone or notebook when Joffrey turns in his direction. When students get up and start making their way to their next classes, Sansa gets up with Joffrey and Margaery, walking between the two as they head for the back entrance and exit.  
  
Jojen remains in his seat and when Sansa shuffles past him. He doesn’t make eye contact with her, but reaches down and slips a small piece of paper into the palm of her hand. As soon as Margaery is past him, he grabs his bag and heads in the opposite direction while Sansa’s hand closes protectively around the slip of paper. She manages to get the paper into her pocket before Joffrey notices, and once he’s dropped her off at her next class and they’ve gone through their ritualistic kissing session (one that she and Margaery have secretly decided makes the couple look like Joffrey is going off to war), she pulls out the piece of paper in her pocket and unfolds it to reveal a small scribble of numbers followed by a small doodle of Spider-Man. She pauses and counts, just to be sure, and yes, there are seven little numbers.  
  
She officially has Jojen Reed’s phone number.


End file.
